The Internet is a collection of disparate computer systems which use a common protocol to communicate with each other. A common use of the Internet is to access World Wide Web (Web) pages. Web pages are typically stored on a server and remotely accessed by a client over the Internet using a web browser.
A web site is a collection of web pages. A web site includes typically a home page and a hierarchical order of follow on web pages that are accessible through the home page. The web pages are connected to each other using hypertext links. The links allow a user to browse web pages of a web site by selecting the links between the web pages. Distinct Web sites may be respectively identified by respective distinct associated Internet domain names.
To increase user visitations and revenue, web sites have become very sophisticated. Web sites typically include web pages that provide information to users, advertise products or services to users and/or provide site search functions for users. A problem for web site owners is to determine how successful the web site is, for example, whether the informational or other needs of users are met and whether the users are purchasing advertised goods and services.
Traditional marketing studies directed toward target market demographics are of limited effectiveness in gauging user satisfaction with web sites. Online methods of gathering information from visitors regarding web site satisfaction are intrusive and have not been well received. Moreover, such systems typically require extensive reprogramming of a web site, which is time consuming and costly.
Another problem is the limited ability to collect information from one Web page to another, across a Web site. Plug-ins and other programs requiring installation are too intrusive while ActiveX and other controls that are based on component object model (COM) objects require modifying a user's system in order to continue with the preferred information gathering process. ActiveX controls are not unloaded from an operating environment when a visitor moves from one Web page to another, across a Web site. This is an issue as a control must first be downloaded in order to run, and is not a preferred method of proceeding as it is deemed to be too intrusive to users, as their browsing experience must stop for a short period, and their computer medium be modified in order to participate and gather the necessary data. Moreover, any client-side scripting language has controls which are unloaded when the visitor moves from one Web page to another, across a Web site. The mechanisms these client-side scripting languages use are also, for the most part, not preserved across web site domains, much more so than pages since changing domains disallows the normal form of preserving session state information. As such, what is needed is a system, method, and computer readable medium comprising instructions for overcoming such limitations.